Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Australia has a rich history of scientific endeavour. For weather observations most states had standardised Stevenson Screens installed by the 1890s yet the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) only extend its official national temperature series back to 1910, conveniently skipping over the Federation Drought when temperatures appear to be higher than present. Through correspondence with the Federal Government's environment Minister Greg Hunt (see reply from the BOM below) we find that the BOM does not even know precisely how many stations were fitted with Stevenson Screens or when this occurred. Worth repeating. Our premier meteorological organisation fueled by $100's of millions of tax dollars, that is tasked with the responsibility for looking after our weather data, does not know where or when Stevenson Screens were installed, and is unable to supply this data in a digital format. The hand written ledgers probably collecting dust and disintegrating somewhere in BOM's data vault. Un - %$&##$@ - believable!

(a) the taking and recording of
meteorological observations and other observations required for the purposes of
meteorology;

(b) the forecasting of weather and of
the state of the atmosphere;

(c) the issue of warnings of gales,
storms and other weather conditions likely to endanger life or property,
including weather conditions likely to give rise to floods or bush fires;

(d) the supply of meteorological
information;

(e) the publication of meteorological
reports and bulletins;

(f) the promotion of the use of
meteorological information;

(g) the promotion of the advancement
of meteorological science, by means of meteorological research and
investigation or otherwise;

(h) the furnishing of advice on
meteorological matters; and

(i) co‑operation with the
authority administering the meteorological service of any other country
(including a Territory specified under subsection 4(2)) in relation to any of
the matters specified in the preceding paragraphs of this subsection.

Sadly the BOM is clearly not fulfilling its functions. Sadly the government couldn't care less.

Sent Environment Minister Greg Hunt

February 18, 2015

RE:
Availability of data from weather stations with standard instrumentation prior
to 1910

Dear
Minister,

The Bureau
of Meteorology currently produce a series of homogenised weather products (eg
ACORN). These only extend back to 1910 due apparently to the lack of standard
equipment (Stevenson Screens) across the country. However a large number of
weather stations had Stevenson screens installed prior to 1910.

I recently
enquired with the BOM about the availability of data for one such station at
the former Musgrave Telegraph Station in northern Queensland (refer email
attached) and was advised that records prior to 1991 have not been digitised.

This
station, and others along the telegraph line were equipped with Stevenson
Screens and appropriate thermometers and rain gauges from 1887. It is
remarkable given the controversy surrounding climate data that our Nation’s
repository of weather data have not digitised and made available the complete
data record for stations such as this (ie stations with standard equipment) so
they can be incorporated into national climate data or made available for use
by university and independent researchers.

Can the
Minister provide an answer the following simple questions:

1. How many
of the nation’s weather stations had Stevenson Screens installed prior to 1910?

2. Which of
the nation’s weather stations had Stevenson Screens installed prior to 1910?

3. Will the
minister ensure that data from these stations is digitised and made freely
available online for study?

Regards

Marc
Hendrickx

The Minister's minion at the Bureau replies. Astonishingly, when it comes to Stevenson Screens, BOM do not know where or when!

Monday, March 23, 2015

From Wiki...Nepotism is favoritism granted in politics or business to relatives. The term originated with the assignment of nephews to cardinal positions by Catholic popes and bishops. Nepotism is found in various fields including: politics, entertainment, business, and religion.

By sharp contrast, sea ice in Antarctica was at satellite-era record
high daily levels for much of 2014. On September 22, 2014, Antarctic ice
extent reached 20.11 million square kilometers (7.76 million square
miles). This was the first year in the modern satellite record that
Antarctic ice extent climbed above 20 million square kilometers (7.72
million square miles).

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

We have been more than a little side tracked of late. This piece by Roger Franklin at Quadrant a must read for anyone still believing that ABC does not have a problem with bias.

A Media Watch Staffer’s Abbreviated CVBack in January, the show that professes to keep the press honest went
to town on The Australian for reporting on an acoustic engineer's
findings in regard to the possible health effects of wind turbines.
Turns out the item's researcher has worked as a deep green propagandist

I do recall a study of voting intentions of reporters including ABC staff and the result was....

It's easy being Green at the ABC, survey finds MORE than 40 per cent of ABC
journalists who answered a survey question about their political
attitudes are Greens supporters, four times the support the minor party
enjoys in the wider population.
The journalism survey, the largest in 20 years, has found the
profession is overwhelmingly left-leaning, with respondents from the ABC
declaring double levels of support for the Greens compared with those
from Fairfax Media and News Limited.The survey of 605 journalists
from around Australia found that just more than half described
themselves as having left political views, while only 13 per cent said
they were right of centre.This tendency was most pronounced among
the 34 ABC journalists who agreed to declare their voting intention,
with 41 per cent of them saying they would vote for the Greens, 32 per
cent declaring support for Labor and 14 per cent backing the Coalition.

Aim of ABC NEWS WATCH

In a diversifying media landscape news editors face an increasingly difficult challenge reviewing the work of reporters under their supervision. Inevitably some mistakes, errors and substandard articles slip past their critical eyes.

The simple aim of ABC NEWS WATCH is to publicise the errors, omissions, and substandard reports produced by the News service and related entities of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). In doing so we hope to provide an independent check or audit on ABC news articles and in doing so improve the standard of ABC news reporting. After all it's our ABC.

We acknowledge and pay respect to the actions, sacrifice, wisdom, traditions, mistakes and curiosity of our ancestors. Their collective efforts over centuries helped evolve our western civilisation, giving birth to the liberal society that makes this website possible.